There are a multitude of infant toys and playthings in existence which range from cloth items such as nerf balls, toys that make noise when squeezed to toys that move or otherwise attract the infant's attention.
In all of these cases, there is some problem for the infant. In some cases, the toy contains sharp edges which might harm the infant. In other cases, the item is not attractive and thus does not attract the baby's attention. Finally, the articles are not of sufficient interest to the infant to hold the infant's attention for an extended period of time.
The present invention relates to an infant's toy which is not only soft, pliable and safe for the baby to handle, but also has brightly colored coverings and various shapes to attract the baby's attention visually. It is also formed so as to make a pleasant intriguing sound to hold the baby's attention when the baby handles the toy. The toy is constructed with a soft inner layer formed of a material such a foam rubber. The inner material may have various shapes, such as rectangular, triangular, trapezoidal and the like. The soft inner layer of foam rubber may be at least partially covered with a pliable sound-generating material to cause a noise to attract the infant's attention when the toy is handled. The pliable sound-generating layer may be, for example, a plastic material having air pockets therein that cause a crackling sound when squeezed. Such plastic material is well known in the art and is used in many cases for packing in cartons to protect products being transported in the cartons. The pliable sound-generating layer may cover all or at least a portion of the soft inner layer. Surrounding the soft inner layer and the sound-generating layer is a flexible plastic layer that is watertight and not only forms a unitary device, but also allows the infant's toy to be washable. A cloth outer layer covers the unitary infant toy. The cloth outer layer may be a cotton or terrycloth layer that has brightly colored designs thereon to attract the infant's attention and is also washable.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an infant's toy that is not only visually attractive to the infant, but that also emits a noise that audibly attracts the infant when handled by the infant. Thus, the present invention provides an infant's toy that is attractive both visually and audibly to the infant.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an infant's toy that is formed of soft materials such as foam rubber, pliable plastic and cotton cloth to form a toy that is safe for the infant to handle.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an infant's toy that causes a crackling sound when handled by the infant.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an infant's toy that is safe to handle, attractive to look at, creates an attractive audible sound and is formed in any desired three-dimensional shape.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a unitary infant's toy that is washable so that the toy can be kept in a sanitary condition for the infant's use.